Planning First Build

[senilemonkey.pie]

Hello all, I'm building my first saber. I want to start simple but with plenty of room for upgrades. I've attached a photo of a wiring guide and parts, I would appreciate any advice on my plan.

Thank you for any and all comments!

2015-09-22 07.03.47.jpg

[Silver Serpent]

A single li-ion cell will not power a BuckPuck properly. You need a minimum of 5v to run them. You could either use a 2-cell pack (7.4v) or swap your BuckPuck out for a resistor.

Personally, I would use a resistor and the single li-ion. That way, it would be easier to add in a Nano Biscotte at a later date.

[senilemonkey.pie]

Given the option I would rather have the single cell 18650, have plenty of them already. What resistor would you recommend?

[Silver Serpent]

Give a man a fish, or teach a man to fish...

FJK has written a lovely tutorial that will teach you how to calculate your own resistor. http://forums.thecustomsabershop.com...e-to-Ohm-s-Law

The math isn't that hard. You'll find the forward voltage value for your LED on the store page. There's also a resistor calculator in my signature, but it tends to round up values unnecessarily. It's good for double-checking your math to see if you're in the right ballpark.

[senilemonkey.pie]

I found the calculator. Correct me if I'm wrong. According to my plan,
Source Voltage=3.7v
Diode Forward Voltage=2.57v
Diode Forward Current (mA)=1000mA

The calculator output, 1.2 Watt capable or greater 1.2 ohm resistor.

Will this resistor work?
http://www.thecustomsabershop.com/12...istor-P22.aspx

[Silver Serpent]

That will work fine. You can always use a higher wattage resistor than what is recommended, it won't affect the brightness of the LED. Don't go overboard unless you need to, since the 5-10W resistors are BIG and eat up precious hilt space.

[senilemonkey.pie]

I did the math provided by FJK (the calculation was easy, thanks)

I got 1.13ohm and 1.13w.

So going to a higher resistor won't affect the brightness, does it affect battery life?